Medical images which are collected with medical image diagnosis devices, such as X-ray devices or X-ray computed tomography (CT) devices in image diagnosis departments of medical institutions, are used for an image diagnosis called reading projection. The result of this image diagnosis is described in an image diagnosis report and sent to departments that requested the result.
In the past, X-ray images picked up with X-ray devices on X-ray films were collected by medical image diagnosis devices equipped with the digital design such as X-ray CT devices or the like, and these collected medical images were also printed onto films and then observed. Digital data containing medical images have been most recently stored by servers in order to improve storage and distribution of medical images, so that the data signal can be distributed when it is required through a network to image displaying devices and broadcast in a picture archiving communication system (PACS) where the data can be observed.
The results of the reading projection performed with conventional medical image diagnosis devices are then copied by hand into a form of an image diagnosis report and distributed to departments that requested the results. Instead of writing the report by hand, the report can be also prepared by a word processor and then printed on paper. In such cases, the image information that forms the basis of the image diagnosis is written into a diagnosis report as a handwritten sketch called schema and then transmitted by a physician specializing in medical diagnosis to requesting departments.
Most recently, so called hospital information systems (HISs) have been used to transmit image diagnosis reports created with word processors or the like for storage and to requesting departments. In this case, image diagnosis reports which are preserved as electronic files prepared with a word processor or the like are either sent to a terminal computer at a requesting department or transmitted as electronic mail. In order to reduce the amount of data transmitted through the network in such cases, the size of images contained in image data creating the basis for image diagnosis is reduced, the image resolution capability is reduced, and the number of pages in a report is greatly reduced in pages attached to an image diagnosis report.
For example, although several hundred pages of 16-bit image data having 512×512 picture elements are generated with one scan of the latest X-ray CT scan, even in this case only about one to two pages will contain images having 256×256 picture elements and a depth of eight bits will be attached.
Moreover, when three-dimensional images are created with the latest X-ray CT scanning or MRI scanning technique, the performance of image diagnosis starts when this three-dimensional image is observed. Because the object of a three dimensional image is displayed stereoscopically, the direction of the line of sight can be changed interactively, and similar changes are possible to enable observation from multiple angles. This makes it possible to provide very beneficial information not only for image diagnosis purposes, but information that is beneficial also for other departments, for example, to create a plan for orthopedic surgery, etc. However, because the amount of data that must be transmitted through a network is thus greatly increased, it is difficult to reproduce three-dimensional images created at other departments, and because data containing images is attached to an image report only as one to two pages containing two-dimensional images picked up on the plane of three-dimensional images, the original three-dimensional data are not generated for requesting departments.
Thus, the reason why images that can be used at a requesting department are limited in this manner is that there is a narrow bandwidth of the network for the connection from the image diagnosis department to a requesting department, making it difficult if not impossible to supply sufficient image data to a requesting department. Generally speaking, because there will be many requesting departments in a hospital, the number of computer devices that are used at user terminals is very high. Consequently, it is often difficult to design a network that would offer a high speed for all user terminals of computer devices.